By Mumo Judah, Eldoret, June 2, 2026
The family of renowned Uasin Gishu agribusiness entrepreneur George Kiprono Kili is once again in mourning following the death of his daughter, June Chebet Kili, in Australia, less than two years after the tragic loss of her brother in a farming accident.
June Chebet passed away on Sunday, June 1, 2026, while undergoing treatment at Calvary Mater Hospital in New South Wales, Australia, where she had been pursuing higher education since relocating to the country in 2024.
Her death has sent shockwaves through the North Rift farming community and among members of the Kenyan diaspora in Australia, many of whom have joined the family in mourning the loss of a young woman whose future appeared full of promise.
Family sources indicated that June was a student at the University of Newcastle and had successfully completed her academic coursework. She was looking forward to graduating on June 26, just weeks away, making her untimely death all the more devastating for relatives, friends and colleagues.
As news of her passing spread, members of the Kenyan community in Australia began organizing prayer and support gatherings in Wallsend, New South Wales, where they have been offering emotional support to the grieving family while assisting with arrangements for the repatriation of her remains.
The tragedy has reopened painful wounds for the Kili family, which suffered another devastating loss in October 2024 when June’s brother, Rodney Kili, died in a farming accident in Moiben Constituency, Uasin Gishu County.
Rodney, who was 31 years old at the time of his death, was widely regarded as a progressive young farmer who had embraced modern agricultural technologies and was actively involved in managing the family’s extensive farming operations.
According to reports, he was conducting routine calibration work on a moving agricultural planter during a seeding exercise at one of the family’s leased farms when the accident occurred. He reportedly slipped and fell beneath the machinery, sustaining fatal injuries.
His death was widely mourned across the agricultural sector, with fellow farmers describing him as a hardworking and innovative leader who represented the next generation of large-scale commercial farming in the North Rift.
The successive losses have left the Kili family facing an unimaginable period of grief, drawing messages of condolence from business leaders, farmers, political figures and members of the wider community.
George Kili is among the most prominent figures in Kenya’s agricultural industry. Through decades of investment in commercial farming, he built one of the largest privately owned grain production enterprises in the North Rift, cultivating thousands of acres across Uasin Gishu County and neighbouring regions.
His farming interests span large-scale maize and wheat production, making him a key player in Kenya’s food production sector. Over the years, he expanded beyond primary agriculture into value addition through the establishment of Buffalo Millers, a major grain processing company known for producing flour products under the Mfalme brand.
The company has become a significant market for farmers in the region, helping strengthen agricultural value chains and supporting thousands of livelihoods directly and indirectly.
Friends of the family described June as a bright and determined young woman whose pursuit of education abroad reflected her commitment to personal growth and excellence. Many noted the painful irony that she had completed her studies and was only weeks away from celebrating one of the most important milestones of her life.
As the family prepares to bring her home for burial, condolences continue to pour in from across Kenya and abroad, with many expressing sympathy to a family that has endured two profound personal tragedies in less than two years.
The back-to-back losses have cast a sombre mood over the North Rift farming community, where the Kili family remains one of the region’s most respected agricultural and business households.
